When Tom Thorne was a student at Neosho High School, he had thoughts about going into Christian service, but he didn’t think he was “strong enough” for the challenge.
Instead, he went off to college and became a teacher.
With degrees in art and physical education, Tom taught mostly in Kansas, including two stints at Haskell Indian Junior College, (now Haskell Indian Nations University) a traditional Native American institution.
After many years in the classroom, teaching art or coaching in Kansas, Tom moved back to Missouri and took a job at East Newton High School. He also served as a lay minister at the Neosho United Methodist Church.
Then, in 1991, when the Neosho Congregational Church lost their pastor, they approached Tom about filling in until a new minister could be secured.
After much thought and prayer, Tom accepted the fill-in position, expecting to serve only a short time as the congregation searched for a new full time minister.
“Then one day they came to me and said they had found someone—me,” Tom laughed.
Many think of Tom Thorne as being a Native American. That heritage comes from the fact that he is three-eighths Cherokee, and he has all the facial attributes that are associated with Native Americans.
Although his heritage is important, Thorne says it doesn’t dominate his life. “My great-great-grandmother walked the Trail of Tears from Georgia,” he said. “And my father was on the first Tribal Council in Oklahoma, so I aware of this heritage all through my childhood.”
Kay Hively is the editor of The Post, and writes a column for the Daily News.
